Former Ghana assistant coach, Maxwell Konadu has applied for the vacant Black Stars coaching job, JoySports can report.
The Nsoatreman FC boss who was assistant coach at the senior national team between 2012 and 2022 is believed to be one of the most experienced coaches in the country.
He has over 10 years experience as assistant and interim coach of the four times World Cup participants.
The former Asante Kotoko coach was appointed assistant to Kwasi Appiah in 2012 and partnered him for 2013 AFCON in South Africa and 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.
Maxwell was the stop-gap manager when Appiah was sacked in September 2014, and led the team to qualify for the 2015 AFCON in Equatorial Guinea before Avram Grant was appointed in December 2014 to lead the team to the tournament.
The 2012 Ghana Premier League winner with Asante Kotoko maintained his role as assistant to Grant until he left his job in February 2017.
When Kwasi Appiah returned for a second stint with the team in April 2017 until December 2019, Maxwell Konadu was still around, but partnered with Ibrahim Tanko to support Appiah.
He was away from the team between February 2020 and September 2021, but made a return as assistant to Milovan Rajevac when the Serbian was reappointed on September 24, 2021, to succeed CK Akonnor.
Maxwell’s experience with the team is believed to be one of the key assets, and sources say he believes he can transition into the head coach role and do a good job.
The Black Stars head coach role became vacant after the sacking of Chris Hughton following Ghana’s horrendous display at AFCON 2023, in Cote d’Ivoire where the country exited at the group stage.
The football governing body requested for CV’s from interested candidates until Friday, February 2, 2024, at 11:59 PM.
It is unclear when the GFA will shortlist the coaches who have applied, but Maxwell and Michael Osei are believed to be the indigenous coaches to have applied for the job per JoySports sources.
One of the criteria for entry of application is the UEFA Pro coaching licence. Any coach who applies for the job without this licence is automatically disqualified, and that means both Maxwell and Osei might not be considered.
But sources say, both coaches and many other coaches in the continent have the CAF licence A which is the highest standard required to manage a national team at its competitions.
source: My Joy Online
